Angel Moncoeur has always wanted to be a fashion designer, but without money or connections, it's going to be a challenge. When an opportunity to leave her home in New York and head to Paris appears, Angel grabs it – even if it means masquerading as her best friend Lily. That can't be too hard, can it?

But faking things doesn't come easy for Angel, so when she falls in love with her very own Prince Charming and he thinks she's someone else, things start to get complicated.

Angel needs to stop her secrets unravelling if she wants to live happily ever after . . .

From exciting talent Jennifer Kloester comes this fabulous story about high society, mistaken identity, love, betrayal, friendship – and great clothes.

The timeless story of Cinderella has been told and retold in many guises over the years delighting each generation with the rags to riches (and true love) tale. THE CINDERELLA MOMENT was a fresh, modern take on the story that I thoroughly enjoyed and couldn’t help but be swept away by the romance and fun.

At first glance, the story seems predictable…it’s Cinderella after all but the journey is what is important and our main character Angel goes through one hell of a rollercoaster to get her happy ending.

Living in New York with her mother, Angel is grieving the death of her beloved father Yves. Angel’s family lived in France until Yves was involved in a near fatal accident that required round the clock care. Angel’s mother, Simone, desperate to help her husband moved the family to New York so Yves could get the best care possible. Running into her old school friend Philip De Tourney, she accepts his offer of help and takes the job of housekeeper for Philip who is recently widowed and his young daughter Lily. Over the years Angel and Lily grow to be best friends. When Angel’s father dies, Angel throws herself into her love of design with the hopes of entering the prestigious Teen Couture competition in Paris. When Philip grows close to social climber Margot and her daughter Clarissa and Margot arranges a summer vacation for Lily with her estranged grandmother, the venerable Comtesse in Paris in order to gain favour, Lily enlists the help of Angel by persuading her to swap places so Lily can attend drama school in London and Angel can enter Teen Couture. When their plans are thrown into upheaval by Clarissa stealing Angel’s designs to pass off as her own, Angel must immerse herself in the exclusive Parisian society to fool the Comtesse into believing she is Lily and stop Clarissa from stealing her dreams. Will she succeed or will there be tears at midnight?

THE CINDERELLA MOMENT was so sweet and emotional and kept me hooked. I loved how easy it was to read and the pacing was brilliant as Angel found herself in one sticky situation after another. I really liked Angel, kind and talented, it was interesting to see her fulfil both roles as herself, the dutiful daughter always putting others first and Lily the girl with the world at her feet. To be honest at times I preferred Angel’s version of her best friend than the real Lily herself! Kloester clearly has a love of fashion which came through with all her magnificent descriptions of the fashion seen in the book. It was easy to imagine each of Angel’s beautiful designs and I loved the moments in Antoine Vidal’s design studio where Angel’s passion for design and clothes was touching and heartfelt.

Angel’s relationship with her mother and Lily’s grandmother were also highlights. I loved how close she and the Comtesse grew although it was heartbreaking how Angel felt as they connected under false pretences. All the characters were well developed and realised and particular favourites were Kitty and our dashing “prince” Nick! The romance was sweet and age appropriate and against the backdrop of Paris, made even more romantic and swoonworthy!

There was definitely a few moments I wasn’t expecting which was great and differentiated it from other “cookie cutter” romances. Overall THE CINDERELLA MOMENT was a wonderful, modern romance with a strong message to be yourself and follow your dreams and most importantly fight for them. Loved it!

6 Responses to “Review: The Cinderella Moment by Jennifer Kloester”

I read this a couple of months ago after I met Jennifer at Penguin Teen Australia Live night in Melbourne and I loved this book to bits. It was wired as my name is Angel and also short for Angelique but other than that, it was like you said it was so sweet and emotional. I am really glad that you enjoyed it as well.